Warm Fuzzies
by MiravsStella
Summary: Even the stoic Lightning Farron falls prey to the cute ones- namely, a stray that should not have been there.  Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy XIII.


Her eyebrow twitched. Why, oh why, did she have to be in this situation? She was supposed to be on another mission with the Colonel, his Lieutenant, and several underlings. They had stopped momentarily in order to set up camp, but she had already put up her portable tent and laid out her sleeping bag, before moving off a ways to explore the area around the camp and make sure that there weren't any hostiles in the area.

Except that was she had found was far from hostile. Currently, she couldn't seem to stop looking into its black, huge, glistening eyes, begging in the most pitiful way possible. Lightning would often be forced to cave to her sister when she used the 'pathetic, sad puppy' look, but she never dreamed that she would be under attack from it being used by...

...A sheep.

A fluffy, baby, good-for-nothing, and completely and irrevocably _adorable_ little sheep. Honestly, the thing was just waiting to be cuddled, and Lightning was hard-pressed to keep herself from squealing like a little girl and hugging it. There was just one problem: the place where they were camping- a particularly dangerous forest outside of Nautilus- was no place for a baby sheep. They were typically found in Nautilus and were not a part of the wildlife.

She was a soldier. She was supposed to be completely immovable in her work. Taking care of a little sheep was not a part of the mission; hunting down another monster was. The sheep would only get in her way.

Lightning looked away from it, gathering up the courage to walk back to the campsite.

_Don't look at it, don't look at it..._

Oops.

Damn it, the little thing was coming with her. She sighed in exasperation, scooping up the cute animal in her arms. Screw Colonel Raines and Lieutenant Rygdea; they couldn't stop her from taking care of it until she got the chance to take it back to Nautilus Park.

Tucking the sheep securely under one arm, she absently began stroking its coat as she carefully made her way back to camp. How was she going to sneak it into her tent? What did it eat? How did it get there in the first place? What if she got caught? Most likely she'd be charged with getting no pay for a few days. Sure, she and Raines were something of friends, but that definitely didn't mean that he'd be breaking the rules for her. He wasn't like that.

The sheep seemed content with her petting it; it was even purring-

Wait. What the hell? _Purring?_

Was that even possible? Lightning was sure that it wasn't. Sheep didn't purr.

Her eyes widened when she heard footsteps coming her way. Thinking quickly, she shoved the sheep behind a nearby bush, hissing, "Don't move," before standing back upright and leaning against the tree, trying to hide it from view.

Lieutenant Rygdea approached her, raising an eyebrow at seeing her just leaning there, trying to look as casual as possible. "Hey Farron, now ain't the time to be dillydallying. Raines told me to tell you that there's a meeting."

"Of course, sir," she said quickly, saluting and ignoring the way her heart was pounding. "I'll be there momentarily, I just... uh..."

His face broke into a grin, and he winked. "Not a problem, Farron. We've all got to relieve ourselves sometimes. I'll let the Colonel know."

She forced a grateful smile, but was seething inside as he strode away, still grinning. Lightning was going to kill him for making that assumption. Turning back to the sheep, she muttered, "You'd better be happy, you little..." her voice trailed off, as she realized that she was going to need something to call the sheep; she couldn't very well just call it, "sheep" all the time.

Damn it again. She was terrible with names. She glanced at it again, now tucked under her arm like before. It was white, and fluffy, like a...

"Cloud. I'll call you Cloud."

With that, she strode more purposefully towards her destination.

Upon arrival, she stowed Cloud in the bushes once more before joining the group for the meeting. Raines only raised his eyebrow at her, looking slightly amused (never mind killing Rygdea, she was going to castrate him) as she sat down cross-legged before him.

Lightning tuned him out while he went over the procedures (she had been on missions with him and his crew before; she knew the drill) and instead wondered what she was going to get Cloud to eat. Sure, she could give him some of her food, but then she might not have rations should an emergency come up. Preoccupied with the many problems that were already popping up, she jumped when Raines addressed her.

"Sorry, sir; what were you saying?"

He sighed. "See me after the meeting, Farron."

Lightning nodded, cursing in her head. Why did he have to be able to read her so well? Although she had to admit, she was being pretty obvious about how distracted she was. Rygdea was trying not to laugh.

_Cut off his family jewels, fry them, and feed them to a Pantheron... then I'll cut out his tongue, for good measure..._

"...And make sure to not lose your grav-con units. We're moving out at dawn tomorrow." Lightning winced at his reference to her slip up in a previous mission. His gray eyes landed on her, regarding her calmly and without emotion. She stood, making her way over to him while the others dispersed, going about the campsite.

"Is something on your mind, Farron?"

She shook her head, keeping her expression neutral. "No, sir. I'm just a little tired is all."

Almost imperceptibly, his the hardened glint in his eyes softened. "Were you having trouble with Serah yesterday?"

"...Yes." It wasn't strictly a lie; she'd gotten into an argument with her sister's new boyfriend, Snow Villiers. Again.

"Be sure to get some rest then."

She swallowed and nodded, turning away and avoiding his gaze. Lightning could feel it scrutinizing her and she went behind her tent, before quickly duck beneath a branch and circling back around to where Cloud had been.

The sheep wasn't there.

"Shit!" Lightning didn't curse that often, but she felt like this occasion merited such a word. If the little guy (when had she decided it was male?) was discovered, who knew what would happen? Knowing Raines, he'd probably make the connection. She'd never hear the end of it. Searching around her frantically for any sign, she took in a sharp breath when she spotted Cloud.

He was safe enough... curled up against Rygdea's sleeping bag, which still rested outside of his tent. The Lieutenant hadn't yet noticed him, but it would only be a matter of time. Taking a deep breath, she crept around the campsite again, praying that no one saw her...

"Farron, what are you doing?"

Speak of the devil...

"Uh, j-just scanning the area again, sir!"

Rygdea only stared for a few moments before shrugging a bit, and going over to speak with Raines. Lightning relaxed slightly; she still had time. Arriving at her destination, she reached for Cloud, snatching him up and hurrying back to her tent, pushing him inside before anyone could glance her way, and entering it herself. She zipped the flap up behind her before turning to glare at Cloud, who only tilted his head to the side in a cutesy fashion.

She wanted to hug him again.

_Focus Farron!_ Yelled Amodar in her head.

"You," she muttered, knowing that tents were not soundproof, "Are some serious trouble."

Cloud's only response was to give a tiny little squeak. She jumped; to her, the sound was louder than a Behemoth's roar. He squeaked again, nudging her foot as she sat down.

"What, are you hungry?" she whispered, reaching for her bag. Lightning dug around inside, pulling out a couple of raisins and holding them out to the sheep. He studied them for a second before backing away from them and squeaking again.

Lightning rolled her eyes, taking out more food, but her bread, celery sticks, and dried cherries were all rejected. Cloud nudged her again, still squeaking more insistently.

"Shut up," she hissed, taking out her last food item. She'd meant to save it as a treat for after the mission, but...

The sheep took on sniff of the chocolate square, and instantly wolfed it down while Lightning gawked. Cloud prodded her hand for more; she unwrapped some more of the candy bar, breaking off three more squares. They seemed to satisfy the little guy, because he finally stopped squeaking.

"I'm getting some sleep," she murmured, glaring at Cloud, who blinked back innocently. "You'd better not wake me or anyone else up."

Not feeling at all convinced that he had understood her, she lay down, shutting her eyes.

* * *

><p>Lightning awoke the next morning feeling confused; she was in a tent- normal, there was silence around her- she always woke up the earliest- and there was something... warm?... at her side. Ah.<p>

Cloud was curled up against, her, his nose wrinkled adorably in his sleep. She got the strange urge to giggle, which was practically against the law for her. Instead, she settled on petting him absentmindedly, while enjoying the peace and quiet the morning brought.

"Aaallllll-right! Everybody, get your asses up and moving!"

Which didn't last long. Cloud jerked, blinking tiredly up at her. Thankfully, he did not emit any noises, which indicated that he wasn't hungry. She would have to leave him here for the day, and hope that he didn't cause too much trouble.

"Stay here," she muttered to him, getting up and unzipping the tent flap. He seemed happy enough to obey, just sitting, black eyes following her as she exited. Lightning made sure to close the tent after herself.

The mission went the way mission always did- get in position, capture monster, have PSICOM come and collect it to be taken to the Whitewood, and then head back to camp, have a short conversation with Raines and Rygdea in which she subtly takes jabs at their skills (and they do the same to her and each other), and then prepare to pack up to head back to base. However, Lightning panicked at the last bit, before sagging in relief when Raines relented to the idea that they should stop in Nautilus to take a break. The reason for her happiness at this?

Cloud had each the rest of her chocolate (foil and all) while she was gone, and was suffering from horrible indigestion. She did not want puke all over her, and he probably needed medical attention. As soon as their ship landed, she slipped away from the group, heading for the nearest entrance to Nautilus Park.

The sheep looked positively forlorn during the ride, having lost the energy to even squeak anymore. Yes, even being the soldier she was, her heart nearly broke at how sad Cloud looked. This basically confirmed her decision: she was _never_ getting Serah a pet.

"Oh, what happened to the little guy?" exclaimed one of the park officials. She scrutinized Lightning's shoulder plate. "You're from the Guardian Corps, aren't you?"

"Yes. I found him in a dangerous area outside of Nautilus. It was no place for a sheep."

"Oh, well thank you for bringing him in," said the woman, beaming and taking Cloud from Lightning. "Is he alright? He doesn't look so good."

"I think he ate something he shouldn't have," said Lightning carefully. She wasn't about to admit that that had been her fault.

"Okay, I'll take him to the clinic right away," the woman chirped. "Enjoy your stay in Nautilus!"

Lightning only watched while the sheep continued to stare at her as he was being carried away, looking (was she imagining it?) sad to see her go. She huffed, telling herself that she would not miss the little critter.

"Making new friends, Farron?"

Lightning nearly jumped out of her skin, but managed to just barely hide it, turning calmly around to regard the Colonel. He was regarding her with something akin to amusement.

"I never took you for someone who would fall for the cute ones."

_He is my superior officer, I will _not _punch him..._

Raines gestured not towards the exit, as she had thought, but further into the park. She fell into step beside him, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. Despite her trying to be discreet, he noticed.

"I don't know anything," he assured her. They walked together in silence for a few more minutes, before he spoke again.

"Whose idea was the bathroom lie? Yours, or Rygdea's?"

She gritted her teeth. He enjoyed annoying her too much.

Just then, another sheep came hurrying up to her, squeaking in a way that was all too familiar. She blinked several times. Her eyebrow twitched.

Oh, what the hell.

Quickly, she scooped up the sheep and gave him one last hug, before quickly putting him back down and fighting the blush that was trying to appear. She peeked at Raines out of the corner of her eye, watching while his mouth twitched. He seemed to be trying not to laugh.

"Oh please," muttered Lightning, red with embarrassment despite her efforts. "You can't tell me that you didn't want to hug him too."

"You never fail to surprise me, Claire."

"...You're just _begging _for me to punch you, aren't you. Oh, and remind me to kill Rygdea later."

_Bye, Cloud._


End file.
